CHECKLISTS

50 Shades of Smile

We were sitting face to face on his small dining table and we just finished eating the buttered vegetables he cooked. Thank Gods he reheated some leftover carbonara and turkey because I would have to refuse dinner if I was just going to eat veggies. Maybe that's how Henry eats since he has a Superman body to maintain but I'm not anywhere near having a showbiz career, so, no. I wouldn't want to miss out on all the yummy carbs.

We talked some more about basic things like where I grew up, where I finished high school, my college online courses and such. He asked where my parents and the rest of my family are. So it wasn't really much of a talk since he did all the questioning and I did all the answering. I mean, shouldn't this be the other way around? Or is he tired of interviews that's why in real life, he preferred to be the interviewer?

"So that means you haven't seen your dad for, how long?" he said, munching on the last piece of carrot on his plate.

"10 years, I think," I replied.

"10 years? How old are you anyway?" He asked.

"19," I answered, my voice was small. Nineteen sounded so young and I had to inwardly kick myself.

He looked at me with furrowed eyebrows now. He leaned back on his chair and folded his arms.

He looked like he was about to say something but he just shook his head and started gathering the plates and bowls. I stood up and took them from him.

"I'll take care of it," I told him.

He just stood there and watched me as I sauntered my way to the kitchen sink. I don't know but it sure felt like his eyes were following me and I had to walk briskly to escape his intimidating aura.

I turned the faucet on and started doing the dishes. I was squeezing soap onto the sponge when he said, "You didn't ask about me, Kristen."

I swear my spine went from bone to iron rod real quick, I must've looked like a cadet or something. Why did he have to be so intimidating? And how did he learn to teleport?

I continued washing the dishes. I cleared my throat before I answered his question.

"I didn't have to. I had wikipedia."

He snorted.

OKAY. That must've been the sexiest snort I've ever heard.

"You trust wikipedia?" he was laughing softly. And his accent was too sexy to be true. God, why is it so hot in here?

"Well, yeah, a bit. And Imdb," I shrugged.

He chuckled. "The first thing you need to know about me, is that, I like to keep things private as much as possible. Media is just a platform we use to market ourselves."

"Oh," I answered dumbly, scraping off the turkey residues on my plate with a steel wool.

He moved to my side, his back to the countertop.

"Did you watch Batman vs. Superman?"

I looked up at him and he was smiling at me. I couldn't help but return his smile.

"Are you serious right now? Of course I did!" I laughed. I was almost done washing the dishes.

"Did you like it?" He was still smiling, almost ready to laugh actually. He's definitely enjoying this.

"Yes! I loved it! I thought you'd never ask," I started putting them on the drying rack. I dried my hands and faced him, crossing my arms, mirroring him. "What the hell was that?! Why did they kill you?"

He stared at me for a second or two, a smile still etched on his face.

"Have you read the comics?"